Refrigerator



April 29 1941 T. l. POTTER y l REFRIGERATOR Filed March 28,. 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f ,/f//fI///////////// 7/// 7mo/VAS 4 ,Corri/Q. Y INVENTOR.

` ATTORNEY.

April 29, 1941. T. LPOTTER 2,240,267

' REFRIGERATOR `Filed March V:28. 1938 2 sheets-sheet 2 Z7 Eres, 3. /0

, THOMAS Dorff/Q.

ATTORNEY.

Patented' Apr. 29, 1941 BEFBIGEBATOR Thomas I. Potter. Malo, N. Y., assigner to u Muriel Bell Potter, Bufalo, N. Y.

Application umn as, 193s. sei-m No. 198,313

(,Cl. 62--63l My present invention relates primarily to the meltage of the ice.

Another object is to permit selective control of food chamber temperature in accordance with the nature or needs of the material to be cooled or the opinion of the householder temperature to be used,l the rate of ice consumption being almost directly proportional to the selected temperature range and being remarkably,

small for any selected temperature. as compared to the consumption rate in standard boxes.

Another object is to use to the full the refrigerating value of the drip from the melting ice, preferably passing this drip to waste only after it has reached a temperature approximating the selected food chamber temperature.

Another object is to use this drip water for maintaining adequate humidity 1n the rood compartment, and, in combination with mechanical means, for eliminating all dust and foreign parz ticles from the air which is circulated through the box.

Another object is to provide a refrigerator which combines the advantages of a bottom ice compartment for convenient loading, a top food compartment for convenient access to its contents and means to insure at meltage of the refrigerant and thus permit convenient emplacement of a fresh cake'of ice on top `roi' a partially melted one. t

The refrigerator preferably employs a forced but gentle air circulation through the loodV compartment, using a vthermostatically controlled fan for the purpose. To insure dat meltage. the air stream ows under a grid on which the ice 1S Supported and gives up its heat to pendant fins or equivalent heat conductive devices inintimate thermal conductive relationship tol they as to the proper` scrubber upon which entrained dust is trapped y v and from which-itis washed into the drip panY and this structure, as is well recognized. is effective to remove odors from the air and keep the food compartment air fresh and sweet. The ice compartment may be quickly and thoroughly cleaned by flushing it out occasionally.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a motor, fan and thermostat all carried by a removable section of the cabinet wall. This removable section is preferably in the natureof a plug of insulating material. It mounts the thermostat and the motor switch which is controlled thereby. It carries a motor for disposition exteriorly of the box so that no -heat from the motor will be transferred to the ice and it carries the fan which is driven by the Vmotor to eiect the desired 'air circulation.

Another feature of the invention is the, provision of a compartment for liquid storage independent of the main food compartment readily accessible through the icecompartment door. This compartment will maintain liquids ata relatively lower temperature than the food com partment temperature.

' Many other advantages will more fully hereinafter appear but it will be readily apparent from the foregoing description that the boxrembodies substantially all of the advantages of a mechanical refrigerator while avoiding many defects thereof, 'such as dehydration of foodstuffs, need for defrosting and frequent lack of an adequate ice supply.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a domestic refrigerator embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken at right angles to Fig. l lon approximately the line 2-2 of Fig. l,

40. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional View4 grid. Preferably the drip isv temporarily trapped f below the' grid so that most of the heatabsorbing value of the cold drip water is used before the meltage flows to waste. The fins moistened by the drip afford a mechanical air washer or 5.5`

on the line 3 3 of Fig. l, and

Flg. 4 is an enlarged detail of the removable fan, motor and thermostat unit on the line @-4 of Fis. 2. l

Referring with more particularity to the drawings ib represents a cabinety of heat insulating material divided by a horizontal partition Il intoan upper kfood compartment i2 and alower icey compartment i3. Access'is had tocompartment Il through a .front opening il, closed byv a convntional door l5 and to compartment i3 through a front opening i6 closed by door I1.

The food compartment may be provided withI the usual removable shelves i8. 'I'he ice block Il rests upon what,"for descriptive convenience,

I shall refer to as a grid 20. This grid consists of a sheet of highly conductive metal repeatedly bent upon itself to provide a plurality of parallel vertical plates or fins 2i. These iins are alternately connected by top bridging sections 22 and bottom bridging `sections 23 to provide a series of alternately oppositely facing channels which dene air passageways. The sections 23 rest upon the bottom of the cabinet and the ice block rests upon the grid 20 cooperatively afforded by the sections 22.

One side wall of the ice compartment is defined by partition 24 spaced inwardly from the side wall of the cabinet and cooperating with this 25 leading from the food compartment to the passageways afforded by the ns 2i. Flowing between the iins 2| the air stream emerges into the space 26 between the ends of these lins 2i and the opposite side wall of the cabinet. Hence the air passes upwardly through a duct 2l' disposed in one rear corner of the cabinet and emerges from the top of this duct to again circulate down through the food compartment.

Arranged above the space 26 is a shelf 28 which rests on the grid and serves as the bottom of a liquid cooling chamber 2g. The side walls of this chamber are constituted by one side wall of the box and by a partition 30 extending from the grid to the partition il. 'I'he rear wall of the chamber is formed by the duct 21. When the door of the ice chamber is open ready access may be had to bottles of liquid in the chamber 29.

Means is provided for inducing a gentle flow of air through the path labove described. Such means preferably comprises a. sirocco suction fan Bil arranged in the upper end of the flue 2l and driven by motor 3i disposed on the top of the cabinet. The motor is controlled by a. thermostatic switch 32 responsive to a conventional thermostat 33, the latter being exposed to the cold air which is drawn up the ue by the fan.

It is noteworthy that this circulation of air is such that no air can ilow over the top or the sides of the ice block and that the circulated air passes under the block so that ilat meltage occurs. There will be no pocketing at the under side of the ice block where the air comes in contact with it because of the fact that the plates or ns 2| are so highly heat conductive that the tendency of the ice is to melt more rapidly where it is inA contact with the elements 22' than Where it is exposed to the In order to obtain the benefit of the heat absorbing qualities of the drip water as well as for various other purposes which will be more fully hereinafter described, the bottom of the icebox.

which is preferably metal lined serves to catch the meltage. This meltage rises to a level determined by an overflow stand pipe 35. By this arrangement I not only avoid passing water at ap' proximately 32 to waste but I additionally cool the 2l. I also make use of the evaporative coohng quality of the meltage. Furthermore since this meltage ilcws down over the sides of the fins the ilns afford an air scrubbingv action for air conditioning purposes. I am `thus enabled to considerably. minimize the presence oi odors in the food compartment and to keep the taeir entirely free from dust or other foreign inat- It will be obvious that the liquid cooling compartment has `its bottom wall resting directly upon the grid for thermal heat conduction purnue passes along under the bottom plate of this compartment .so that the most intensive refrigeration is accomplished at the liquid compartment and liquid stored therein will be maintained well below the temperature of the food compartment.

A special feature of the invention is the provision of a motor, fan and thermostat arranged for unitary removal from the cabinet for purposes of inspection or repair. The details of this unit appear in Fig. 4, wherein it will be observed that the top of the cabinet has a circular opening 40 therein into which fits as insulating plug I I. The flanged base plate 42 of the motor which is disposed exteriorly of the box may be secured by tiebolts 43 to a plate t4 placed against the bottom of the insulating block Ii.

This ange base plate is preferably screwed or otherwise-secured as indicated at a to the top of the cabinet for transportation purposes. These screws may be removed when the box reaches its point of use and the ilanged base plate may ride`upon a rubber gasket 45, which materially reduces motor vibration.

The sirocco or squirrel cage fan 46 is carried by the motor shaft 41 which projects through a .central opening I8 in the block Il. The thermostat controlled motor' switch 32 is mounted upon a bracket 5U rising from the motor base plate and the thermostat h33 is arranged in a pocket 5l in the bottom of the block 4| 3 this pocket opening into the box and permitting the thermostat to be sensitive to the cold air issuing from the top of the iiue 2l.

One of the most remarkable characteristics of this box is its extremely low rate of ice consump- While several features contribute to this. such as the use of the heat absorbing qualities of the meltage water, the eiilcient heat conductive qualities o! the ns etc., it is also due in no small measure to the fact that when the fan is not in operation there will be substantially no convection circulation of air as would be the case were the ice compartment disposed at the top of the box instead of at the bottom. I have also discovered that a box designed in accordance with this invention and containing roughly 5'cublc feet of space outside of the ice compartment will use only about .8 pound of ice per hour while maintaining the food compartment temperature in the neighborhood of 47. lI have also discovered that the food compartment temperature will'not vary even when there is less than a pound of ice remaining in the ice chamber. This, ofcourse, is. due to the fact that the ice melts dat, that virtually all heat is transferred through' the nis and that the refrigerating capacityidoes not depend upon the size of the ice block but lupon the ability of the tins to transmit heat'to the ice which is resting directly upon the grid.

It will thus be seen that there is herein described a device in which vthe several features of this invention are embodied, and which device in its action attains the various objects of the yin- 1. In a domestic refrigerator, an insulated poses; also that the very coldest air owing to the 76' cabinet providing an upper food compartment and a lower ice compartment, means for circu-fA lating, any air stream throughthe two compartway being of heat conductive .material andments, and mea's"for shielding all .except the bottom of, the ice block from direct contiailc'tiwithv the'owing air and' thereby insuring liat meltageof the block., n

2. In a domestic refrigerator, an insulated cabinet providing an upper food compartment and a lower ice vcompartmentmeans Iolilixicu- `lating anair stream through the two compartments, andfmeans for shielding all hutthelower portion of the ice block from ldii-ect contactfwith the owing air and thereby insuring ilat meltage of the block, the shielding means includingy a grid plate upon which the ice' blockl rests.

3. In a domestic k-reirigerator, anA insulated cabinet providing an upper food compartment and a lower ice compartment, means for ciculating an air stream through the twocompartments, and means for shielding allbutthe lower portion ofthe ice block from direct contact with -the owing air andl therebyin'suring ilatnieltage of the block, the shielding means including.

a grid plate upon which the ice block estaand duct forming partitions cooperatingwiththe grid plate to direct the air from the conf-' partment around and under the grid plate and back to the food compartment.

4. A domestic icebox including an upper f ooi'V compartment, a lower ice compartment and an ice supporting grid plate in the icelcompartment, heat conductive elements intimately"ther-` mally related to the grid plate and extending" therebelow, means for maintaining a forced cir culation of air under the gridplate and in contact with said elements and through thefifood compartment, and water trapping means under age water to provide additional direct and evaporative cooling and humiditlcation of the air stream. I

5. A domestic icebox including a food, chamber and an ice chamber having an ice supporting grid plate therein, iins on the bottom of said grid plate, a water collecting means under the grid plate and means for circulating air ovex` the fins and over the surface of the Water and through the food compartment whereby said fins are wetted by drip from the grid plate and serve as an air scrubber to remove dust Aand odors from the air.

6. A domestic icebox including an upper food compartment and a lower ice compartment, a horizontal air passageway extending across the bottom of the ice compartment, a pair of vertical air passageways connecting AOpposite ends of the rst passageway with the food compartment, means for forcibly inducing a circulation of air through said passageways and through the food compartment, the top of the horizontal passage-` way being of lheat conductivev material and comprising elements extending along the lengthy-of the passageway and adapted to support a block the grid plate for temporarily trapping the meltcompartment, the top of the horizontal passagehorizontal vpassageway for trapping melta'ge waterfromtheice. i

V8. A domestic icebox-including an upper food compartment and a lower ice compartment, a horizontal. air passageway extending' across the bottom ofthe ice compartment, a pair `of vertical aipassag'eways connecting opposite ends of the rstf'passageway with the'iood compartment, means for forcibly inducing acirculation of air through saidpassageways and' through the food Icompartinent, the top of the horizontal passagewa'y being of heat conductive material and adapted to'support a block of ice, and a plurality olheat conductive elements arranged in the horizontal passageway and adapted totransmit heat by conduction to the ice, said heat "coriductive elements being wetted by the ice meltage stream.

' 1.9. A water ice refrigerator including an insucabinet divided into an upper food storage dmpartment and a lower ice compartment, a i'ltie leading from the lower to the upper comprtment and terminating near the top of latter, aLpassageway through which air flows from the upper to the lower compartment, a suction fan near thetop of the ue for inducing an upilow of air therethrough, a motor disposed on the top of the cabinet for driving the fan. said cabinet top including a removable section upon which lthe fan and motor are mounted vwhereby they may -be removed as a unit, a thermostat carried by said section and responsive to the temperature of the air adjacent the flue outlet and a motor switch also carried by the section and controlled from the thermostat.

10. A water ice refrigerator including an insulated cabinet divided into an upper food storage compartment and a, lower ice compartment, a ilue leading from the lower to the upper compartment and terminating near the top of latter,

a passageway through which air, ows between the upper and lower compartments, a `fan near the top of the ilue for'inducing ow of air there- Y through and a motor disposed on the top of the cabinet for driving the fan, a removable plug in the cabinet top, a motor casing from which the plug is pendant, .a motor shaft passing through the plug and said fan hung on the motor Shaft. j

l1. In a domestic ice box, an insulated cabinet including an upper food storage compartment and a lower ice receiving compartment, means disposed in the bottom of the ice compartment for supporting the ice comprising a grid having integralv supporting fins extending' therebelow of ice, and a plurality of heat conductive elements extending lengthwise through the horlzontal passageway and adapted to transmit heat by conduction to .the ice. l

7. A domestic icebox including an uppeffood compartment and a lower ice compartment, a.

and resting on the bottom of the cabinet, the

bottom of the cabinet affording `trap for the meltageand an overnow stand pipe for draining on' lthe meltage, the lower ends of the ns being immersed in the meltage.

12. A water'ice refrigerator including an insulated cabinetdivided into an upper foodfstorage compartment and a lower ice compartment, a horizontal air passageway below said ice comt, a grid iloor in said'ice compartment,

a ilue leading from one end of said passageway to the upper compartment and terminating near the top of the latter, a passageway through which air flows from the upper compartment to the other end of the horizontal air passageway, a

fan near the top of the flue for inducing upward iiow of air therethrough and a motor for driving the fan.

13. A domestic ice box including an insulated cabinet and a partition dividing the compartment into an upper storage chamber and a lower chamber, said lower chamber being vertically partitioned to divide it vertically into an ice compartment, a liquid storage compartment and a passageway for air connecting the upper storage chamber to the (bottom of the cabinet, the

ice compartment and the liquid storage compartment being disposed above the bottom of. the cabinet to aord 'a horizontal air passageway below them and a duct iin a rear corner of the a horizontal air passage below them, a duct in.

the rear corner of thecabinet for aording a second passageway for air between the bottomof` the cabinet and the upper storage chamber, the bottom ofthe cabinet serving as a meltage trap, and -ns on the bottom of the ice compartment, immersed in said meltage and dividing the horizontal air passageway into a plurality oi' channels.

`15. A domestic ice box including an insulated cabinet and a partition dividing the cabinet into an upper storage chamber and a lower chamber, said lower chamber being vertically partitioned to divide ,it vertically into an ice compartment, a liquid storage compartment, and a down draft passageway for ilow of air from the upper storage chamber into the bottom of the cabinet, the ice compartment and the liquid storage compartment being disposed above the bottom of the cabinet to afford a horizontal air passageway below them, a duct in the rear corner of the cabinet for up draft of air from the bottom of the cabinet to the top of the upper storage chamber, and a fan for sucking cold air up the duct.

16. A domestic ice box including an insulated cabinet and a partition dividing the cabinetl into an upper storage chamber and a lower chamber, said lower chamlber being vertically partitioned to divide it vertically into an ice compartment, a liquid storage compartment, and a passageway for air between the upper storage chamber and the bottom of the cabinet, the ice compartment and the liquid storage compartment being disposed above the Ybottom of the cabinet to afford a horizontal air passageway below them, a duct in the rear corner of the cabinet for ailording a second passageway for air 'between the bottom of the cabinet and the top of the upper storage chamber, and means for directing cold air under the bottom of the liquid storage compartment.

'THOMAS I. POTTER. 

